


Eavesdropping

by Spare_Parts_Bud



Category: Daredevil (TV), The Punisher (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M, karen gets hurt, kastle - Freeform, matt finds her at franks, matt finds out the hard way, mostly matt pov, the boys are arguing again, why am I always hurting Karen?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-19
Updated: 2020-07-19
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:20:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25371520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spare_Parts_Bud/pseuds/Spare_Parts_Bud
Summary: Matt tracks Karen down after she gets hurt in a bad situation. He's none too pleased on where he finds her.
Relationships: Frank Castle & Karen Page, Frank Castle/Karen Page
Comments: 9
Kudos: 119





	Eavesdropping

**Author's Note:**

> Just a little short that I got in my head last night and needed to get out. 
> 
> I have a complicated relationship with Matt. I think, overall, I really like him. BUT...I don't feel like him and Karen fit together. Not Netflix's Karen at least. I feel like I put poor ol' Matt down a bit in my fics but I do like him, honest. He's just a dummy sometimes.
> 
> Thanks for reading!

Matt strode up to the door of an apartment in a less than ideal corner of Hell’s Kitchen and knocked on the door. It was a struggle not to pound on it relentlessly until there was a response. He heard a heartbeat in the small apartment spike for just a second before it went deadly calm, followed by the subtle sound of metal sliding across fabric.

His impatience flared so he knocked again, a bit more forceful this time. The occupant approached the door with what would have been silent footsteps if had been anyone other than Matt. There was a curse and the hot flush of anger from the other side of the door before it snapped open and the sound of a gun being re-holstered filled the air.

“Christ, Murdock, you startin’ to take your sermons door to door?” Frank’s voice held no small amount of contempt but his posture relaxed as he regarded the other man.

“I know she’s here Frank. I want to see her.” he said, trying to keep the snarl out of his voice.

Another flush of anger, held barely in check, “Is that right? Seems to me she wouldn’t be hurt right now if you’d done your fuckin’ job, Red.”

Matt’s face contorted around his own anger and no small amount of guilt, “You weren’t there, like usual, so I don’t think you get to play that card. Let me see her.”

Frank wanted to fight but the words must have struck a nerve cause he released another curse before stepping back from the threshold to allow the other man to enter.

Before Matt got too far into the apartment, following her heartbeat to the small bedroom, Frank caught his elbow and forced him to stop. His voice was gruff, full of warning and a touch of weariness, “She finally got to sleep not too long ago, if you wake her up I’m tossing you off this building.”

He gave a begrudging nod before continuing to where Karen was nestled under several covers and appeared to have a companion in the shape of a large dog in the bed with her. Matt could smell sharp antiseptic and a bit of blood from the fresh wound and felt a wave of guilt and anger wash over him. Without thinking, he strode into the room, intent on being absolutely sure that she was okay despite the fact he could hear her steady heartbeat.

As he got to the bedside though, there was a low growl that he could feel down to his bones as he sensed the dog step over Karen protectively, daring Matt to take another step towards her.

He could practically feel Frank’s amusement behind him, he doubted the man had any intention of calling the dog off. As quietly as he could manage, Matt bit out, “I’m not going to wake her, could you stop being an asshole and call the dog?”

There was a moment of silence before Frank gave the soft command, “Heel.”

The dog’s head turned to Frank but his feet remained planted before he gave plaintive little whine. Frank’s voice took on a more commanding note, “Fenris, heel.”

With another whining huff the heavily muscled, sleek blue-grey pit stepped off the bed and dutifully marched over to Frank, sitting down heavily at his side with no small amount of disdain.

Matt gave a small nod and a quiet, “Thanks.” 

Frank clicked his tongue, crossing his arms over his chest, “Don’t thank me, you’re lucky he listened. When she’s here, I’m not the boss anymore.

Matt tried not to think of the familiarity that implied before kneeling down at Karen’s side. He ran a careful hand down her arm, reassuring himself that she was in one piece and finally allowed himself to take a full breath since she sustained the knife wound to her shoulder just a few hours ago. It had taken him nearly all of that time to figure out where she had disappeared to, he had checked her apartment, his and Foggy’s as well as local hospitals. She had just vanished and it left him in a panic.

Frank’s apartment was the last place he thought to check and while he was relieved to have found her, he was not pleased that she had chosen to come here of all places. Why did she even know where Frank lived?

“You patch her up yourself?” He asked instead of the burning questions of why she was here, why she was comfortable naked in his bed, why her scent permeated the place more than it should for only being in the apartment for a few hours.

Frank was absently scratching at the broad head of his companion as he answered, “Nah, friend of mine was over when she showed up. He was a medic in the corps, only person I would have trusted to clean her up.”

There was reverence in his voice but he didn’t say anymore on the matter.

Matt took a few more minutes to simply listen to Karen breath and the steady rhythm of her heart. To his credit, Frank let the other man take his time, it seemed they had a sort of camaraderie when it came to Karen Page and her ability to find trouble and get hurt.

Finally, he stood and made his way back across the small room. Before he made it two steps Fenris had left Frank’s side with a huff, returning to the bed to settle curled against Karen’s legs, resting his chin on her hip with a quiet whine. It appeared even the dog had anxiety when it came to Karen and her escapades.

Matt followed Frank into the living room before passing him to reach the front door. Before he left though, he turned back with a deep scowl. 

“She shouldn’t be here Frank. You’re still killing people, still making enemies. She’s going to get hurt.” He tried to keep his voice level but there was still some disdain in the words.

There was a heavy sigh and when Frank spoke he was angry but there was also resignation there as well, “Save it, Murdock. You can’t tell me the cases she works on for your law firm doesn’t put her in dangerous situations, not to mention you have no small amount of enemies. Besides, I don’t know if you’ve ever told Karen Page not to do somethin’ but it doesn’t work. I’ve told her a hundred times and it didn’t make a goddamn difference to her.”

It was Matt’s turn to release a resigned sigh, he couldn’t really argue that point. Karen was going to do what she wanted, he tried not to let it sting that what she wanted didn’t seem to be him anymore. 

“Yeah, well, I’m going to try to talk some sense into her. She already puts herself into too much danger, she shouldn’t be hanging around with a mass murderer too.”

There was an abrupt snort of amusement, “Good luck with that. Be sure to have the salve ready for when she rips you open.”

Matt turned, there was nothing left to discuss at this point. Karen was safe for the moment, while he didn’t particularly like Frank, he knew the man wouldn’t hesitate to protect her. Stepping through the front door he said, “I’ll be seeing you, Frank.”

“Don’t do me any favors, Red.”

Then the door closed with a click that echoed through the bare hallway.

He’d made it to the stairs when he heard Karen come awake with a small start and a hiss of pain. He had already half turned to go back when he heard Frank’s low voice.

“Hey, you’re alright. I’m here.”

Her voice was quiet and hoarse when she answered, Matt had to cock his head to hear more clearly, “I thought I heard another voice. Is everything okay?”

A snort, “Yeah, Murdock tracked you down here, come to check on you.”

There was a flare of anxiety from her, “Is he okay? He wasn’t hurt was he?” There was a rustling of the covers like she was moving to get up.

“Hey, hey, he was fine.” A heavy hand settling over fabric, “No more banged up than usual.”

A heavy silence before a dry tone, “That doesn’t really mean anything, his usual is generally pretty banged up.”

“You got a point there, ma’am, but he was fine. I’d have told you if he wasn’t, now lay back down before you pull one of those stitches.” There was gentle affection in the reprimand.

“Actually, I’m kinda hungry. I think it’s the medicine Curt gave me, do you think you could order something from that place we like?” She sounded tired and hopeful.

“Yeah, I can do that if you promise to stop trying to undo all of Curt’s hard work.”

Matt was having a hard time reconciling the deep gentle tone Frank was using to banter with Karen to the one full of rage and retribution that he often heard from the other man. When had this familiarity happened? He knew they had been in touch but he was starting to think there was a lot more to it then he suspected.

A soft, breathy laugh pulled him out of his thoughts and confirmed his fear.

“I could think of something that may be worth pulling a few stitches.” Karen whispered in a low voice that Matt had never gotten the chance to hear from her.

There was a grunt from Frank that turned into a growl before Matt heard skin gliding over skin. The unmistakable sound of lips coming together, punctuated by the rustling of fabric. Frank’s rough palm moving along the delicate skin of her arm, both heartbeats doubling and a soft breath that was dangerously close to a moan escaping Karen.

Matt flushed and hurried the rest of the way down the stairs and out of the building. At least he had the answer to all of those questions. He needed a drink.

\------

Later, as Karen was carefully tucked into Frank’s side and Fenris was nestled into the crook of her knees, she glanced up at Frank.

“What did Matt say?” she asked.

A small chuckle reverberated through his chest before he answered, “He said he was going to talk some sense into you so you stop hangin’ around me.”

Her face flushed with indignation, “Good fucking luck with that.”

Frank’s amusement was evident as he tucked a stray hair behind her ear and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead before settling further into the pillows and tucking the blanket gently over her injured shoulder. Fenris gave a few lazy thumps of his tail and it didn’t take long before they were all sleeping soundly.


End file.
